The big knife I had but the scabbard was nylon crappo so I made another for it. I had to take it apart a couple of times to get it right so is got extra holes which doesnt bother me. I used the saddle stitch with two needles going in and out from both directions. The smaller knife is one I made from a big saw zall blade, shaping it on a bench grinder being careful not to discolor it.

I had a buddy of mine give me a "neck knife" and I love it but it was really too small for using so I built the small one to replace it.....Im real happy with how it turned out! The neck knife is the deal, finally a knife I wont loose!

If it is of satisfactory quality and you are happy with it, then kuddos. I have been tinkering here and there, time just leaves me very little in the way of knife making like I used to, but hoping to make some for Christmas presents out of circular saw blades.
Cheers!

Leaf springs are quite good, as are old files.
Leaf springs are easiest to use if you can forge them out, material removal method can be VERY time consuming, and generally requires annealing it to work it faster and easier. Same with files, annealing makes the job much easier. I have an improvised anvil, and look forward to getting it set up and the time to set it up.
Yes they make great chisels, I had to forge out chisels for stock making in school out of tool steel and heat treat them. If done correctly, they can be far better than most affordable chisels at the hardware stores. The good quality truly made for word work chisels cost 60 or more dollars a pieces.

For the material removal method, try a 9" right angle disc grinder and a BIG vise to hold the work piece. Betcha I can rough shape one out of a leaf spring in less than half an hour. But, that is a 2 HP grinder...

Yeah, it gets HOT. Heat treat will be gone. You need to reharden and temper a leaf spring anyway, as spring temper is too soft. Heat to glow-in-the-dark reddish-orange and soak at that temp for a few minutes, then quench in oil. A Harbor Freight LP gas weedburner torch will probably do it, it you stack some bricks around the workpiece to hold in the heat. While heating, prop the workpiece up on 3 small chunks of brick to allow heat to get on both sides of it. When you quench, be ready to slap a lid on the oil bucket, because sometimes it catches fire. Do it outside. It smokes and stinks to high heaven.

Clean up the hardened piece and sand at least one side until it is clear of oxide and soot. Reheat to about 400 to 450* F., maybe in the kitchen oven. Pre-heat the oven to temp, then put the part in and leave it on for half an hour, then shut off the heat and leave it in there until tomorrow when it is cooled off.

Check your hardness with a file (Rockwell C 60+). If the file squeaks on it and leaves a mark on the file, it is harder than the file (doubtful with leaf spring material). Then try it with a decent pocket knife. If it blunts the pocket knife edge, it is harder than the knife, which should be around C52-56. You want it to be around C54-56. Leaf springs may not get that hard, but they come close. They used to be made of AISI 6150, which is chrome vanadium alloy with .5% carbon. Dunno what they use now.

Files are straight 1.00% to 1.10% carbon steel, and will draw about right at 500 degrees. Here's surface color chart for estimating heat in steel for tempering. You need to shoot for about Rockwell hardness of 54 on C scale. Note the differences depending on whether you have medium or high carbon steel:http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php...s_hardness.htm Files will react about like 1095 steel, possibly coming out a bit harder, but not much. The leaf spring should react about like 1050 steel.

Nice job, I have been tinkering with knife building myself but I haven't gone quite tat far as yet. My wife and I have been making sheaths for some time now, you can do some nice "concealed carry" sheaths with a touch of finesse.

__________________Teg的t is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." - Voltaire
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy

Thanks! I like the leather work as well, have alot of ideas and not much leather. I open carry so no need to conceal...I would like to build me a set of shoulder rigs for my Colts though, been kinda piddling with that.

Understood, for smaller knives I like sheaths that run nearly horizontal with the belt, I have some sketches I can share that show the design, as I forgot to get a pic of our last one. I am currently making a fairly standard sheath for my old Ka-Bar since the old one is falling apart finally.

__________________Teg的t is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." - Voltaire
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy

I have always wanted to try my hand at knife making, but I have no metalurgy skills or knowledge, let alone equipment to heat treat metal.
In The Backwoodsman Magazine (I highly recommend this magazine) a couple times a year there are articles about knife making.
I have several old 10" circular saw blades from work and there was an article about using a blade like this, cutting out your desired shape with a Dremel tool, being careful not to overheat it. If I did this would the existing temper in a saw blade like this be good for a knife? The author did mention the steel was too hard to drill rivet holes for the scales so he epoxied them on. Is this a do-able project?

__________________
"There is nothing so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." Winston Churchill

Not sure on that, but since you aren't stamping the blade out of the saw blade or hammering on it, i.e., messing with the molecular structure you should be ok without heat treating.

Another nice way to make knives I learned in Vegas, I was in a leather class with a knifemaker who was making knives from Horseshoes, he would use a bench mounted grinder and belt sander to get the shoe to a workable thickness and he used the shoes natural curve in the handle, using leather or paracord for handle covering. I believe he was using size 3 or 4 shoes but one could experiment till the found a size that works for them or different shoe for a different size knife, two blades to a horseshoe.

Here is an example of the style made by another knifemaker, same concept though;

__________________Teg的t is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." - Voltaire
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy

Cool.
The author of the story used a magic marker to lay out the shape and fit two of them on one saw blade.
I've also thought that a lawn edger blade would be easy to make a knife from as well, but they are a lot softer than saw blades.

__________________
"There is nothing so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." Winston Churchill